HSBC Bank Malaysia has named Stuart Milne (pictured) CEO, replacing Mukhtar Hussain who will be helming the new role of HSBC's head of Belt and Road Initiative, Asia Pacific. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will continue reporting to HSBC's deputy chairman and chief executive Peter Wong.

Prior to his new role, Milne was CEO, India and has also helmed the role of CEO, Japan at the bank. He joined HSBC in 1981 and has worked in a variety of businesses in Hong Kong, the Philippines, the US, Japan, India, UAE and France. According to Wong, Milne's experience across businesses and geographies would be "invaluable" in leading the bank through its next growth phase.

In Mukhtar Hussain's new role, which he will be taking on effective 1 July 2018, he will spearhead key initiatives and relationships to grow the group’s Asian BRI business and drive collaboration across HSBC’s global businesses and international footprint. He first joined HSBC in 1982 and has worked in the UK, the Middle East and North Africa. He was previously the deputy chairman HSBC Bank Middle East and global CEO of HSBC Amanah. He will move to Hong Kong and continue reporting to Wong.

“Already a priority market for the HSBC Group, Malaysia’s standing is further enhanced by its strategic importance within the ASEAN region and its growing participation in Belt and Road initiatives," Wong added.

HSBC recently appointed PHD to manage its global media planning and buying duties, following a review held earlier this year for the estimated US$400 million account.

Airbnb has appointed Text100 Malaysia to manage PR duties for the market until the end of the year, following a pitch held during the first week of May this year.

The agency will be responsible for developing and executing Airbnb's consumer public relations strategies in Malaysia, in addition to providing oversight on public affairs matters. It will also be in charge of generating coverage with key media outlets, driving influencer relationships, and articulating the company’s vision for home sharing in Malaysia.

In a statement to A+M, Airbnb's spokesperson said both are people-driven companies and Airbnb saw the shared passion that Text100 has for the brand and felt confident in the agency's keen insight into the local market. The spokesperson added that work for Airbnb will roll out soon.

"Now that we've added them to our clientele, we're energised to work with Airbnb to articulate those experiences to others. Our priority will also be in ensuring that people are engaged with the transformative value Airbnb brings to the travel industry and the community," Tiam Siang Lee, managing consultant, Text100 Malaysia, said.

Malaysia has been a market that has brought growth for Airbnb. In April this year, Airbnb said its Malaysian hosts welcomed over 1.5 million guests in 2017, representing a 137% year-on-year growth in guest arrivals, the highest growth rate among the company’s Southeast Asia markets. On a city level, Kuala Lumpur saw 510,000 inbound guest arrivals, while Georgetown had 210,000. Johor Bahru and Petaling Jaya had 130,000 and 80,000 inbound guest arrivals respectively.

The company also unveiled its Global Office of Healthy Tourism, a global initiative to drive local, authentic and sustainable tourism in countries and cities worldwide. It will create a new Tourism Advisory Board comprising travel industry leaders across the globe.

It also launched a new guest membership program, Superguest, offering benefits across the entire trip. This is part of Airbnb’s roadmap for its core homes business, which places the company on a path to more than 1 billion annual guests by 2028. The company will also launch new tiers – Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb – in a bid to recognise hosts who go above and beyond to provide outstanding hospitality.

Airbnb also expanded its trips "Experiences" offering to new markets in Asia Pacific - Malaysia, Bali, Hong Kong and Melbourne. This provides curated activities guided by local insiders to its users. Currently, the offering is available in markets such as Singapore, Bangkok, Queenstown, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City, New Delhi, Osaka, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo.

Padini Holdings has recorded a revenue of RM425,269,000 for the third financial quarter ended 31 March 2018 (Q3 18), a 13.8% increase compared to RM373,737,000 during the same period last year. The increase in revenue were mainly due to increased number of outlets, where there are now six Padini Concept stores and six Brands Outlet stores which opened during the nine-month period under review.

Meanwhile, revenue decreased by 7.6% from RM460,434,000 when compared to the preceding quarter, which ended on 31 December 2017. This can be attributed to the special promotion campaign, Christmas season and year-end school holidays that occurred during the preceding quarter.

Yee Fong Hung, a subsidiary of Padini Holdings, brought in a revenue of RM456,091,000 which is the highest revenue generated for its apparels and footwear business. Padini Corporation recorded a revenue of RM392,008,000 while Vincci posted at revenue of RM198,586,000. Seed and Mikihouse earned a revenue of RM116,891,000 and RM32,967,000 respectively.

Despite the challenging economic environment and rising cost, Padini Holdings is confident of posting another profitable period. Its financial statement said that the management will "continue to be vigilant" to the changes in the external environment and "take necessary actions", including reviewing its cost structure to maintain long term sustainable growth.

Digi and PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) have inked a comprehensive, exclusive digital partnership to combine marketing and rewards programmes, as well as explore touch-points to digitise and enhance benefits to businesses and customers.

This partnership strengthens Digi's network of 15,000 customer touch-points and enables PDB to offer a wider range of services to Malaysians who patronise their stations. PDB's spokesperson declined to reveal the monetary value of the partnership when asked by A+M.

As part of the partnership, there will be a cross-marketing collaboration between Digi's intelligence commercial fleet tracking solution iFleet and PDB's corporate fleet card programme, PETRONAS SmartPay. Digi will also subscribe to PETRONAS SmartPay exclusively for its fleet management solution, providing it greater convenience, savings and value monthly.

Plans are also underway to look into the reward programmes of both partners and explore ways in which customers and subscribers of both programmes can benefit. This is expected to activate further into the partnership in H2 2018.

Meanwhile, consumers will be able to enjoy selected services such as subscribing to a Digi line or credit reload at more than 200 PETRONAS stations in Klang Valley, providing added convenience to customers. Digi pop-up booths will also be set up at selected PETRONAS stations to make it more convenient for motorists who wish to perform the selected services. Additionally, Malaysians can also make payment with the e-wallet app vcash at PETRONAS stations nationwide.

Aadrin Azly, PDB’s head of retail business division, said the partnership will not only improve the customer experience at its petrol stations, but also aid in its own digitisation efforts as it strives to bring more digital products and services to consumers.

Yakult has launched a new campaign focusing on the core idea of “365 reasons to drink Yakult LT” urging audiences to consume Yakult every day. The messaging revolves around Yakult helping to maintain healthy intestines and a stronger body for consumers to face their everyday challenges, through its probiotics, high fibre and low sugar formulation.

The press release said that the idea came from the insight that many HK consumers seldom relate their symptoms of poor health with unhealthy intestines or improper digestion. The series of videos aims to remind target audiences of the benefit of having healthy digestion to avoid any unexpected challenges or embarrassments.

The first video follows different consumers being exposed to illness all around them - in the form of a coughing taxi driver whose name ("Lau Kam") is a homophone in Cantonese to "flu" - and how people are trying to protect themselves against illness. Yakult LT then comes to the rescue as an immunity-boosting aid.

The creative boutique in charge - FAQ Comms - was awarded the creative duties of Yakult in a pitch held in late February.

“I feel excited to work with Yakult team again...” said Albert Wong, co-founder and creative partner of FAQ Comms who has produced a number of popular Yakult ads in past decade. “The approach is different from previous campaigns because we want to create a new perception for Yakult LT which is also relevant to the young middle-class.”

The campaign went on air commencing May 21 and spread across terrestrial TV, OTT video and social platforms.

]]>Mezzo Labs launches in HK with former Digitas data head as MDhttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/mezzo-labs-launches-in-hk-with-former-digitas-data-head-as-md/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/mezzo-labs-launches-in-hk-with-former-digitas-data-head-as-md/Thu, 24 May 2018 11:12:28 +0800Carlos Bruinsma

Mezzo Labs, the UK's largest independent digital analytics agency, has just opened an office in Hong Kong in what it calls "a major commitment to the region."

The press release said Mezzo Labs is aiming to fill a gap in Hong Kong where companies don’t have the local expertise to get meaningful insight from their digital data. With over 10 years' experience in analytics, Mezzo Labs brings some of the best analysts in the world to work with platforms like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics. They then use data to drive actionable business insights and targeted customer marketing.

Its new office in Causeway Bay was opened by Hong Kong Managing Director, Patrick Milburn, at the end of April. Previously, Patrick led the regional data team for Digitas for over three years across five key APAC markets.

Milburn explains “Having worked with many clients across Asia, I saw that digital consultancies were offering complicated and expensive solutions in this space, when local companies often wanted something leaner, driving more immediate value. Mezzo Labs' proposition was something I immediately connected with. After seeing the fantastic work the team had done in the UK, I jumped at the opportunity to build a self-sufficient business with them in Asia.”

"Mezzo Labs has a unique proposition, helping clients uncover value in their digital data through ‘Total Analytics’. They set-up the platform, gather insights, understand their customers and run AB tests and Personalisation to improve performance, before up-skilling clients with training and resourcing."

The agency said that it already has a strong client base in Hong Kong. Milburn plans to further leverage its expertise in financial services, as well as push into travel, hospitality and retail across APAC.

Founder and Group CEO, Adrian Kingwell, added: "I am delighted that Patrick is joining our team and very excited about the potential in Hong Kong. This is a vital market for us in the region: we're completely committed to developing a long-term presence here and extending north into China and south to Singapore. We are also committed to hiring and training local talent to become the web analysts of the future. We will be bringing world-leading expertise to Hong Kong - it will be a fantastic opportunity for local graduates to learn from the experts. "

]]>[Viewpoints] Why Starbucks in China is the example other internationals need to look tohttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/viewpoints-why-starbucks-in-china-is-the-example-other-internationals-need-to-look-to/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/viewpoints-why-starbucks-in-china-is-the-example-other-internationals-need-to-look-to/Thu, 24 May 2018 10:59:44 +0800Contributor

Penetrating China. Two words that elicit both excitement and horror in the mind of many a CEO.

Home to almost 19% of the world’s entire population, it’s not hard to see why international businesses find Mainland China so appealing: even just 2% of the market share here would still return heady profits compared to other developing countries. Yet the experience of many entering China seems to echo the Greek myth of Atys, eternally condemned to be just out of reach of food and water. Business publications now act partly as online graveyards, strewn with the corpses of all those to whom the seemingly low hanging fruit of China, while agonisingly close, was always just beyond their grasp.

Ebay is perhaps history’s most famous example, the narrative of its defeat truly gong-worthy. One can only imagine the incredulity with which they must have perceived Taobao’s (then) cutesy, cuddly aesthetic, let alone the horror they felt when, despite entering with 85% of the market share and $100 million in of Wall Street Investment, Ebay was annihilated by a punky dreamer by the name of Jack Ma. More recently, all have heeded the cautionary tale of Marks & Spencer who, while loved by the Chinese when on holiday, were so staggeringly unpopular on home turf that all Chinese stores closed in 2016.

There are some, however, who seem to do the impossible, none more so than coffee titan Starbucks, which just unveiled plans to open 2,700 stores in China within the next five years (that’s one every 15 hours for those of you who like to think of statistics within the realm of your daily routine). The success of Starbucks seems to be perpetual, and is even more astounding when you realise the enormity of what the brand has managed to do: convert a nation of tea drinkers.

What is it that lies in the abyss between these two wildly different outcomes? When consulting with brands entering the China market, the most promising are those whose China teams demonstrate their own autonomy. But the majority of international companies refuse to devolve power to the team they install on the ground here anyway – and this can prove a fatal mistake.

This attitude seems to be built upon an ongoing perception by Western companies that Chinese professionalism can be somewhat lacking and that procedure, content and strategy has to be strictly prescribed by international headquarters in order to ensure productivity. But this is a misunderstanding, and above all, a strategy that simply does not work. China is a dynamic, fast-moving consumer landscape where agility is king and localisation is god. By refusing autonomy, international companies deny their China teams the flexibility they need to adapt to the market and reach their target audience segments.

Starbucks’ focus on branding and merchandise (iPad cover anyone?) in China is colossal, while its WeChat loyalty programme and its social gifting function is elegant in its simplicity, ensuring constant engagement with a larger audience. While obviously the same brand, a shiny Starbucks here with its different menu and lack of comfy chairs doesn’t feel like a Starbucks in the UK or the US, but what Starbucks seems to have realised is that that’s okay.

Instead of aggressively protecting its brand pedigree, Starbucks honed in on its target audience, allowing the brand a certain malleability in order to fit around them rather than prescribe brand values. And it’s this flexibility and commitment to localisation that has returned handsome rewards for the coffee chain. As spending power increases, China becomes ever-riper for the picking, but international companies that underestimate discerning consumers and cultural nuance will find that they quickly get left behind.

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has shortlisted JWT Singapore and BBH Asia Pacific for its recent creative and digital pitch. This followed an initial shortlist which also saw BBDO Singapore and TBWA\Singapore in the running for a tender SDC launched late March, handled by R3.

In a statement to Marketing, Lynette Ang, CMO at SDC said that four agencies had responded to SDC's tender, of which two have been shortlisted for a final round of presentations. She added that further deliberations will be made following the presentations, with an appointment expected to be made by the next quarter.

"As Sentosa Development Corporation steps up our efforts to attract even more locals and tourists to the island's array of unique leisure experiences, we called a creative and digital tender for an agency to support us in our plans to further deepen our engagement with guests and prospective visitors," Ang explained.

According to tender documents previously seen by Marketing, the appointment is for a period of two years, with the option to extend for another and will see the agency/agencies appointed cover functions such as providing strategic counsel and advice on brand strategy, creative and digital strategy.

Dentsu Singapore, which was the incumbent for tactical executions, also nabbed strategic branding duties, a remit previously held by Grey Group Singapore. Meanwhile, Carbon Interactive was appointed as digital agency to undertake its brand campaign in 2017 for its Singapore, Malaysian and Indonesian markets. This was for a period of one year four months with the option to renew for another two years.

SDC is also in the midst of a media pitch, which also saw four agencies competing following a tender called early this year. The agencies are Carat Singapore, GroupM Singapore, IPG Mediabrands Singapore and ZenithOptimedia.

In its latest financial report, Sing Tao News Corporation has announced improved results, and devoted substantial coverage to its development of new media business – a significant contributor to the enhancement of its services to both readers and advertisers.

According to the latest Ipsos Media Atlas, newspaper (print) readership in Hong Kong has arrested its fall in recent years and remained rock solid at its current level, with a notable growth in the aged under 50, highly-educated and senior executive groups. “This goes to show that print media still appeal to, and serve a segment of premium readers who demand high quality content,” observes Siu Sai-wo, Chief Executive Officer of Sing Tao News Corporation.

In mapping the media conglomerate’s future direction, Siu is unequivocal on the adoption of an ‘offline to online’ strategy as the best way forward. “As we find growing demands for one-stop services within the media group, there’s no way we would give up the traditional print media which commands a strong status,” he emphasises. “A parallel approach in both the offline and online mode is, in our assessment, the optimum solution in response to a changing market – one that never ceases to gain in sophistication.”

But Siu is quick to point out that the dual platform is not a simplistic transfer of content from one to the other. In its ‘Jetso’ app for instance, Headline Daily has expanded its range of shopping offers, interactive games and promotional activities to help advertisers engage with their customers. “It’s the value-added content that makes the difference,” he says.

Drawing reference from Toronto Star, Sing Tao’s overseas partner, Siu also highlights the vertical scope coverage of its digital platform that caters to specific interests. In addition to general news coverage, readers can access their topics of interest, such as in education and parenting; finance, cars and property; art & culture and hobbies; recruitment and training; and more.

“We know, for instance, that there is a large following for prestige cars in Hong Kong, so we have a wealth of information and data for Mercedez Benz fans and BMW fans respectively,” he adds. “While soccer fans can follow their top scorer in various tournaments, basketball fans will not miss the latest action of their favorite sharp-shooter either!”

Welby Li, Group Business Director, Advertising Department of Sing Tao Limited, likens the paper’s O2O (offl ine to online) strategy to a hybrid car where the two elements co-exist for optimum effectiveness.

“In the brutal competition to maintain market share, both the media and their clients have to work that much harder,” she explains. “Readership segmentation demands smart media deployment, hence the importance in the media of providing a one-stop solution for clients in mounting their marketing campaign.”

Li points out that with the launch of its digital network and network buy options, Sing Tao is well-positioned in this respect as different papers and different platforms combine seamlessly to help clients achieve their objectives. “With Headline Daily, for instance, we can help clients with our targeted approach by organising specific location-based inserts,” she says. “These campaigns have proven to be very cost-effective.”

“From the clients’ standpoint, ROI is the KPI for their business – from building brand awareness through to acquisition,” she adds. “And we stand ready, willing and able to offer integrated solutions that have been tried and tested.”

A bidding war has emerged as Comcast, owner of NBC Universal, has openly said that it is considering, and is in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the businesses that FOX has agreed to sell to Disney at US$52.4 billion stock deal.

The offer would be in all cash but does not include the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company and certain other assets. This comes even after Comcast lost out on the deal last year.

The burning question on everyone’s minds right now is why would a stable company with strong financials, be so eager to dish out top dollar to add on FOX to its portfolio?

Sandeep Joseph, CEO of Ampersand Advisory said Fox offers a global presence, especially in fast growing markets such as India through Sky. Today, Comcast gets only 9% of its revenues from the US, and with Fox that could become 25%. As US market growth slows, growth has to come from abroad and Hollywood is seeing the same trend.

“For Disney, Fox represents an opportunity to deepen its sports offering and strengthen ESPN with Fox sports. It also opens up doors to own an even richer content library to counter heavyweights such as Netflix,” he said. Moreover, as cord cutting grows in the US, and consumer media consumption habits change, the market will continue to see more big deals that strive to insulate players from industry disruption.

Joseph added that Comcast’s offer is expected to be at a financial premium to Disney’s, and as such “Fox is in a good position either ways”.

The Comcast deal would be vertical integration while the Disney deal is horizontal.

"A content company such as Disney is probably better at understanding the content Fox has, but Comcast is keen to expand globally and wants Fox’s assets for that,” he said. Fox would hence be looking for the offer’s value, whether it is cash or stock (with cash having more immediate value) and whether the suitor will understand Fox and be able to manage the mega deal’s inevitable people and structure issues.

Nonetheless, the challenge for Fox is that while either suitor, Disney or Comcast, is offering a premium price, the risk is of the regulator not approving the deal. The AT&T and Time Warner deal too has been challenged by the Department of Justice on anti- trust monopoly grounds, and the verdict in June will be an indicator of whether the Comcast Fox deal will pass regulatory muster too.

Audrey Chong, chief investment officer, Magna Malaysia said in the race for content acquisition, Fox will be a strong add-on to the breadth of content offered by both parties.

Essentially, Fox should look at the strategic values that both parties can bring to the table and how these fit into Fox’s own ambitions and plans.While Disney is more established in the content space, commanding a wide genre of content that appeals to different segments universally, Comcast is the challenger brand between the bidders, being more US-centric with its strength built on data and technology.

“It remains to be seen where the shareholders’ direction lies once the formal bid is revealed. Aside from the capital injection, there is the US anti-trust regulations to be mindful of. Disney has included a breakup penalty worked into the offer, should this bid not pass the regulators, and Comcast has allegedly worked this into their terms as well. Which means that shareholders should see parity in compensation should the deal be broken up because of government regulation,” Chong added.

Adding on to the matter, Prashant Kumar, senior partner at Entropia explained that the "spectacular success of Netflix" coupled with Google and Amazon’s foray into entertainment industry has changed the fundamental rules of the game. These platforms are direct to consumers and direct to producers thus allowing minimum margin leakage.

“They are truly global platforms with no intermediaries allowing tremendous agility. Informed by their customer data based recommendation capabilities, they have totally reset customer expectations. And to top it all, now they are making massive investments into original IP taking the battle to the home turf of the traditional players,” he said.

As such, consolidation is one way to ramp up their IP assets, monetise them better via more diversification, get better margin leverage as well as streamline their cost structures. Kumar added that Fox should ideally look out “primarily for maximum price” and “which of the suitors has a better war plan against the barbarians at the gates to be able to deploy its assets with max synergy and leverage”.

Kumar thinks that the ultimate intent both Disney and probably Comcast have is to move aggressively into Netflix model.

“I do not see more than two global majors remaining from among the traditional giants. Chances are that ultimately it’s going to be a five cornered fight - Netflix, Amazon, Google, Disney and Comcast,” he added.

Jeffrey Seah, partner at Mettle & Salt, and venture partner at INCUVEST and Quest Ventures said "Every player in the content creation and distribution business is searching for a global platform with the advent of OTT players of all forms, and the new mega and irregular players like Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Tencent. Fox presents an immediate upgrade in capability and market knowledge for both Disney and Comcast to that global reach. "

Omnicom Group has launched the Omnicom Experiential Group, comprising a connected collection of Omnicom experiential agencies that will form a borderless experiential network. The agencies are Auditoire, DOIT!, GMR Marketing, Luxury Makers and TRO.

The experiential group will be led by a board consisting of GMR Marketing CEO Cameron Parsons, Auditoire CEO Cyril Giorgini and TRO Group CEO Michael Wyrley-Birch. It was formed to fill a "significant gap" in the market, the press statement said, adding that the new team will further allow Omnicom to support the evolving needs of global brands that seek scalable, nimble and cross-border agency solutions, while maintaining local relevance.

It will focus on strengthening new business development, creating customised teams for clients and better targeting of internal investments. It will also be responsible for improving expertise and knowledge across management teams, as well as creating more opportunities for employees. Agencies within the experiential group will continue to retain their individual brands and cultures.

Omnicom Experiential Group will include 1600 practitioners across 29 offices in 16 countries with leadership in five global hubs - Shanghai, London, Milwaukee, Paris and Sao Paulo. According to Auditoire's Giorgini, the experiential group gives it a "global toolbox of capabilities and talent" to bring brand experiences to life anywhere and anytime.

Marketing has reached out to Omnicom for additional details.

This announcement comes shortly after HSBC appointed Omnicom Media Group's PHD to handle global media planning and buying duties, following a review held earlier this year for the estimated US$400 million account.

Accenture Interactive has launched a new programmatic practice called Accenture Interactive Programmatic Services. The move signals its increasing investment and move into programmatic in-housing and media planning and buying.

The new arm will provide three core services, namely programmatic consulting and in-housing, which aims to help advertisers “take back control of their media capabilities”. It also involves building long-term programmatic strategies, in-sourcing technology, reinventing operating models and delivering internal capabilities. It also provides media strategy, planning and activation service which looks tohelp advertisers drive superior business outcomes by better serving their audiences, running transparent and scaled paid media campaigns across search, social, video, display and more.

The third service is its ad tech implementation and support which looks to help advertisers deliver “flawless experiences at scale and speed with the power of [its] global network”. This encompasses operating business processes and providing infrastructure as-a-service.

Following the move, Accenture Interactive is also collaborating with Accenture Operations to help drive efficiencies and transparency in media investment for brands such as HP, Radisson Hotel Group and Melia Hotels. Through the new arm, Accenture Interactive looks to help marketers achieve greater business outcomes, enable cost transparency, regain control and ownership of their data, and design audience-driven campaigns. This means helping to design, build and staff in-house trading desk capabilities, or run full service global digital media campaigns for clients, the statement read.

In a statement, Brian Whipple, global CEO of Accenture Interactive, explained that as an experience agency, clients had been asking for help in driving greater efficiencies with their programmatic media spend specifically digital media. As such, it is enhancing Accenture Interactive Programmatic Services to complement its full suite of experience services.

“We are already focused on all the pieces that are related to media placement so it was a natural extension for us to help our clients deliver more hyper-relevant customer experiences through digital media,” Whipple added.

Echoing the sentiment, Scott Tieman, global lead of programmatic services, Accenture Interactive, said that advertisers are reacting to the changing media landscape and they want to move beyond the status quo and take back control of their media capability.

“We believe we can help our clients do things differently. Accenture Interactive has an offering that is highly differentiated in the market and is built on a foundation of trust and transparency,” Tieman said.

Remy Merckx, vice president digital at Radisson Hotel Group, said that as part of the company’s five-year operating plan and a vision to become one of the top three hotel companies in the world, Radisson Hotel Group needed a partner on a global scale to better manage its marketing and customer engagement activities aimed at creating memorable moments for our guests.

“Accenture Interactive has a proven track record to help businesses like us increase their ROI by instilling greater efficiencies and transparency into the programmatic media and marketing spend. We look forward to our journey together,” Merckx added.

The move comes on the same day Accenture revealed its acquisition of Shanghai-based HO Communication, a full-service digital marketing agency. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Through the acquisition, Accenture Interactive looks to bolster its digital design, marketing, content and commerce services to clients in Greater China seamlessly and at scale.

HO Communication is also the latest addition to the Accenture Interactive portfolio in Greater China. This includes Fjord, a design and innovation consultancy; PacificLink, an independent set of digital agencies in Hong Kong; Altima, a digital commerce agency; and Mackevision, producer of CGI and immersive content.

Founded in 2014, HO Communication employs more than 200 people across China with digital creative, design, marketing, media, and brand content capabilities. With offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Nanjing, HO Communication also serves more than 100 Chinese and multinational clients across China. The agency is focused on omni-channel brand experiences and customer engagement, offering marketing services ranging from content creation and creative design to branding and media services that create engaging brand experiences for clients.

“China is the world’s largest digital consumer market. HO Communication will strengthen our ability to meet the growing digital demands of our clients, be their partner of choice in digital transformation, and help them achieve better business performance,” Wei Zhu, chairman of Accenture Greater China, said.

“The state of the traditional marketing and advertising industry is changing. Clients want campaigns, but they also want advice on strategy and assistance on delivery. We see this as the future for the industry, and want to be part of creating and shaping that future, which is why I’m excited about pairing up with Accenture,” Lamy Zhang, CEO of HO Communication, said.

Tickled Media, publisher of media assets, theAsianparent.com , and AsianMoneyGuide.com , has raised a US$6.7 million round. The funding round was led by Global Grand Leisure and joined by Mountain Pine Capital as well as existing investors.

The company also raised additional venture debt financing from DBS Bank. This brings its total funding amount to over SG$11 million to date. Founded by Roshni Mahtani, the media-tech company has seen remarkable growth from 1 million users in 2013 to its current base of 12 million Asian women monthly users across Asia. The funding round will help the company fuel its expansion into the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam; as well as develop two additional media properties that will also target the Asian women segment.

“There’s a significant market gap in that there’s really no large pan-(Southeast) Asia media company – or even a local one – just focusing on women in the entirety of their short- and long-term needs. We see this as an exciting opportunity to grow to become the largest digital media player in Southeast Asia. We are hiring aggressively and bringing in the best talent to bring that vision to life, ” Mahtani said.

Chairman of Mountain Pine Capital, Paul Rogers, adds: “Tickled Media provides a far superior social network environment for its target Asian women vertical community than Facebook, with a higher level of trust providing relevant content and local tribe creation. For Advertisers targeting moms, their budget is far better allocated with accurate metrics from theAsianparent.”

On the growth of Tickled Media, Carmen Yuen, Partner at Vertex Ventures, comments: “Vertex Ventures has witnessed how the company has evolved in the last three years; and is very positive about the growth of the company and its recent steps. As a woman in today’s overly complex world, I completely see the need for content and communities hyper-targeted to a woman’s life stage.”

Essence, a global data and measurement-driven agency and part of GroupM, have two new additions to its APAC leadership team. The agency has brought on board Daphne Goh as vice president, Data Strategy and Aarti Bharadwaj as vice president, client analytics.

Goh’s role will seek to transform the way Essence’s clients think about, organise and orchestrate data and technology, to deliver more timely, engaging and meaningful brand experiences for their customers. Following roles in Australia with Nielsen, ZenithOptimedia and Adobe, she relocated to Copenhagen in 2016 to take on the role of senior industry manager for Google, working with DoubleClick platform clients across the Nordics.

In her new position, she will report to Jon Taylor, senior vice president, Global Data Strategy, and will be based in Sydney. Goh’s appointment is effective immediately.

Bharadwaj will be tasked with creating learning agendas for clients based on actionable, measurable objectives, and will actively design and execute new ways to measure and optimise client campaigns. With more than 15 years of experience in consulting and research, she was most recently vice president at Publicis Media in India, leading its analytics hub to deliver solutions to consumer packaged goods, banking and retail clients across the world.

She will be based in Delhi, and will report to Anant Mathur, executive vice president, Global Head of Analytics. Bharadwaj’s appointment is immediate.

“Data strategy is imperative to marketers with the increasing need for governance in the digital age,” said Goh. “With a user-centric approach to planning, my goal is to lead data strategy at the outset of client engagements. I’m excited to help clients maximise the value of data to achieve even stronger insights, audience targeting, communications and outcome measurement.”

“Advanced analytics, when paired with Essence’s cross-channel communications strategies, will drive effectiveness and efficiency, ultimately enabling clients to make advertising more relevant for their customers,” said Bharadwaj. “I’m thrilled to join Essence on this transformative journey, and look forward to using sophisticated analytics solutions and insights in solving clients’ business challenges.”

“As a full-service agency, we have data, measurement and analytics at the core of our offerings at Essence, enabling us to provide our clients with deeper insights to help them earn more valuable connections with their target audiences,” said Kyoko Matsushita, CEO, APAC.

“As we continue to grow rapidly across the region, I’m delighted to have Daphne and Aarti join our regional leadership team. Given their vast experience in data strategy and analytics respectively, I’m certain they will help us find even more success.”

Unilever and WPP have launched a first-of-its-kind on-site collaboration with Unilever Foundry and its start-up community.

The initiative sees the creation of a flexible new Team Unilever model, with specialist expertise from various WPP agencies coming together under one roof at Unilever Foundry’s LEVEL3 co-working space in Singapore to provide innovative solutions for Unilever’s 400+ brands.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, president of Unilever, Southeast Asia and Australasia, said this new collaboration is the first step in laying the foundation of the marketing services ecosystem of the future.

"When you combine the multifunctional capabilities of WPP with agile startups, you get a strong partnership which can continue to build Unilever’s core business, and at the same time address the huge shift taking place in consumers’ lives due to technological change," he added.

Peter Dart, WPP’s Global Team Leader for Unilever, said WPP wanted to take the opportunity to co-create a structure that allows us to work much more closely with Unilever and focus on all the various services along the consumer journey that can help Unilever and its brands grow.

"The key is agility and the enhancing ability to respond to disruption in the consumer products market as well as in marketing services offerings," Dart added.

Leading the Singapore effort is Sudipta Roy, managing director, Team Unilever for the Singapore Hub and SEA. He said: “We have taken a fresh approach to the ‘Team WPP’ design. Instead of designing around the brand or the category, we have designed around capabilities and intelligence in order to solve business problems. We have access to cutting-edge technology and new products across every pillar of the Unilever marketing framework through the startup community in Unilever Foundry. We look forward to collaborating with them to deliver breakthrough models, communications and consumer connections products.”

David Porter, Unilever’s VP of Media for Asia, Africa & Russia, and a key supporter of the initiative, said the team is looking at a number of ways to bring external marketing services closer to colleagues inside Unilever.

“We work more frequently in fluid, multifunctional teams, so it makes sense to bring our key partners physically closer to us and to explore different in-sourcing models. With WPP, we are taking a major step towards in-housing key external services at Unilever. The unique environment of LEVEL3 puts our agency partners much closer to our brands, closer to our data, ecommerce and internal creative resources, and also closer to the digital startups which are transforming our world,” Porter said.

]]>TBWA\ Group Singapore crowned Agency of the Year 2018http://www.marketing-interactive.com/events/tbwa-group-singapore-crowned-agency-of-the-year-2018/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/events/tbwa-group-singapore-crowned-agency-of-the-year-2018/Wed, 23 May 2018 22:47:28 +0800Luke Wee

With four Gold awards, one Silver and one Bronze award, TBWA\ Group Singapore took home top honours at Marketing’s annual Agency of the Year Awards Singapore on 23rd May at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore. Standing proud in front of the 600-strong crowd, the team grabbed the title after sweeping Gold in the Brand Consultancy, Digital, Integrated Marketing and Social Marketing categories respectively.

The win in the Digital Agency of the Year category marks the agency's third consecutive year winning in the category, having won Silver in both 2017 and 2016, further cementing its outstanding performance in the discipline.

Second in line to the throne on the night were last year's winners, Ogilvy Singapore, who landed three gold awards for the B2B Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year and Public Relations Agency of the Year. They also bagged the bronze award in the Integrated Marketing Agency of the Year category.

Lighting up the industry and being pegged as The Next Big Thing this year were BLKJ, formed in late 2016 by former DDB leads Rowena Bhagchandani (managing director), Joji Jacob (group ECD), Khalid Osman (creative director) and Lester Lee (creative director), and has grown to a 45-man strong team in the past few months, having also secured numerous notable accounts.

This year's Local Hero award winners included Happy Marketer, who impressively picked up the award in four categories; B2B Agency of the Year, CRM & Loyalty Agency of the Year, Programmatic Agency of the Year and for Search Marketing Agency of the Year.

GOODSTUPH, who picked up the Local Hero awards for both Social Marketing and Specialist Agency of the Year categories, won silver and gold respectively, the gold being won for the second consecutive year.

To date, the awards programme remains the only one to be judged solely by client marketers. Twenty-two senior client marketers hailing from brands such as ANZ, Circles.Life, Cycle & Carriage, McDonald's, OCBC Bank, Procter & Gamble, Shell, and the Walt Disney Company took part in the judging process this year.

Glenn Seetoh, assistant general manager of Media at The X Collective (XCO), the overall sponsor, spoke on the synergy that XCO and the top-performing agencies shared - the desire to create meaningful connections - before presenting the award to TBWA\ Group Singapore.

Mediaspokes and Mediacorp OOH returned once again as event sponsors, the latter returning for the second consecutive year to sponsor and present the awards for the Media Agency of the Year category.

Official beer partner Peroni and Official Wine Partner bottlesXO made sure that all in attendance would never be without a beverage in hand, while Official Photography Partner LiveStudios, effortlessly captured and immortalised the evening's celebrations. Photos were promptly printed out and handed to guests, and instantly projected onto screens for all in attendance to relive moments from earlier in the evening.

Thanks to official video production partner Graphiss, all audio and visual elements of the event were well-taken care of.

In addition to its recent hires, including Lee Devine as creative director for APAC, Text100 Hong Kong has hired Vicky Neill as principal consultant to support a growing roster of multinational clients. An award-winning marketing and communications expert, Neill joins the senior leadership team as the business continues to aggressively roll out more integrated work on top of its PR offerings.

Increased business opportunity in China for international brands continues to drive growth for Text100’s Hong Kong business and aligns with Neill’s hire, the press release said. She built a decade-long track record in the agency world helping multinationals activate their brands in the Southeast Asia and Greater China markets, while also helping Chinese companies including Huawei expand their footprint into Western markets.

“Companies are starting to recognize the intricacies of the Greater China market,” said Neill. “It’s incredibly nuanced so it’s important to have a strategic partner who can help them navigate the landscape and deliver their business objectives. This is precisely the type of work that I’m passionate about and I’m happy to be joining a business with ample opportunities in that space.”

Neill joins fellow principal consultant, Lynn Yap-Backe, to support Rosemary Merz, VP and managing consultant, at the helm of Text100 Hong Kong. As a leadership team, they’re focused on elevating the integrated work they do for regional clients across the marketing suite, including SEO, email marketing and creative services.

“We’re bullish on building out a team to enable our team across the region, tapping into expertise that span from PR to content marketing and digital services,” said Rosemary. “Critical to our clients’ success is having an experienced, passionate and strategic leadership team and Vicky’s hire will strengthen our team across all these areas.”

Going cashless in today’s world is easy as there are many ways and opportunities to do it. But in Singapore, many still prefer making purchases and payments in cash. This is a habit POSB aimed to change.

However, habitual change doesn’t happen overnight. For customers to switch from using cash to going cashless, they must first understand the benefits of doing so.

As such, DBS and Water’s Edge needed to find a way to reach out to the target audience – one that is conventionally dependent on cash – and introduce them to the convenience of using digital payment modes in their everyday lives.

This article was done in conjunction with Water’s Edge. The campaign won MARKies Singapore 2018 silver award for Best Use of Content Campaign for POSB Go Cash Free.

Solution

Singaporeans love drama. With that in mind, we developed and launched a series of edutainment videos nationwide that was further supported by a BTL push.

Go cash free nationwide education campaign

For the main nationwide campaign, Water’s Edge and DBS produced a series of light-hearted and engaging edutainment videos featuring Zoe Tay and Bryan Wong ­– renowned Mediacorp artists who have a strong affinity with the Singaporean masses.

Through relatable scenarios in each video, Tay shows Wong the ease of using digital payment modes such as PayLah! and Digibank, as well as topping up EZ-Link/NETS FlashPay using POSB/DBS debit and credit card, FasTrack, and such.

A lucky draw was also created to reward customers who were able to go cash free and reduce their cash withdrawals. Those who kept their cash withdrawals to two times or less per month had the opportunity to win a SG$500 grocery shopping voucher. As part of POSB’s 140th anniversary, we rewarded 1,400 customers throughout the campaign.

POSB’s go cash free exclusive promotion

An analysis was conducted to pre-identify customers who showed the greatest reliance on cash. It was important for us the campaign reached out beyond the masses to this specific group of customers whose behaviour POSB wished to change the most.

A three-month BTL campaign was designed exclusively for this group of customers and ran parallel to other ongoing efforts. Customers, who could keep their monthly cash withdrawals to two times or less every month, would earn a S$10 cash gift for the first month and a 10% rebate on all contactless spend at the end of three months. The two-part reward mechanism helped encourage behavioural changes, forming a habit that would last beyond the campaign period.

Objective

Water’s Edge and POSB sought to reshape the existing behaviour of customers by introducing them to the benefits of using the following cashless payment modes:

An integrated 360-degree media campaign comprising traditional media, out-of-home, as well as online and social media was developed.

A six-part video series formed the core of the education campaign and was launched progressively on POSB’s social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, with a new video released each month. We created teaser ads before the release of each episode to pique viewers’ interest.

The videos were also broadcast on free-to-air channels and Toggle, as well as large screens in high-traffic malls and at POSB branches where the content was highly relevant for walk-in customers. To extend our reach, the videos were also hosted on Mediacorp’s social media channels.

Regular open talks were hosted on radio stations Class 95 and Love 972 during morning drive-time over six months to educate customers in detail.

During the monthly events, where we awarded winners with a grocery voucher, mobile studios from Mediacorp radio stations broadcast live roving reports that were aired on radio to create increased awareness and interest among listeners.

As a fitting end to the campaign, we produced and boosted several videos featuring our campaign winners to highlight how they benefited from going cash free.

Qualitative results: There was a high awareness of the campaign, with three quarters of respondents recalling the campaign and correctly attributing it to POSB from the online survey we conducted. At least 80% of respondents said they were likely to go cashless frequently and over 56% indicated they would use the contactless payment modes after viewing the ads.

Quantitative results: Preliminary findings showed that nearly 50% of the bank’s customer base qualified for the monthly draw. A further 280,000 customers, who exhibited high cash withdrawal frequencies, were able to reduce cash withdrawals to two times or less per month and sustained this frequency monthly for the first quarter of the year, demonstrating actual behavioural change.

Statistically speaking, the bank saw a 1.8% YoY decline (1Q 2016 versus 1Q 2017) in portfolio cash withdrawal transactions during the first three months of the campaign. This was also translated into a 5.5% YoY reduction in the average number of cash withdrawal transactions per customer, and 1.9% reduction in the average cash withdrawal amount per customer.

The videos were also widely watched and received, garnering a total of 2.263 million views on the broadcasted free-to-air channels, as well as 2.255 million views and 3,000 shares on online and social media channels.

]]>YouTube unveils new music service: What will it take to beat out competition?http://www.marketing-interactive.com/youtube-unveils-new-music-service-what-will-it-take-to-beat-out-competition/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/youtube-unveils-new-music-service-what-will-it-take-to-beat-out-competition/Wed, 23 May 2018 11:43:27 +0800Rezwana Manjur

Google-owned video platform YouTube will be rolling out its new music streaming called YouTube Music. The new offering will allow consumers to listen, watch and discover music easily without having to jump back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube.

While YouTube Music is ad-supported and free, there is also a YouTube Music Premium version, which is a paid membership that allows consumers utilities such as background listening, downloads and an ad-free experience for US$9.99 a month. According to a spokesperson from YouTube, the initial launch of the app will be available in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.

According to YouTube, it currently draws in more than 1 billion music fans each month. It also brings in 2 million artists to share their voices and art with the world.

“YouTube was made for watching, which meant fans have had to jump back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube. Those days will soon be over. On Tuesday, May 22, we’ll begin rolling out YouTube Music, a new music streaming service made for music on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, a big marketing push is said to be accompanying the launch as well, with the team “making an enormous investment to launch YouTube Music”. YouTube did not comment on the monetary value or on the widely reported marketing initiatives featuring Cardi B.

In a conversation with Bloomberg News however, T. Jay Fowler, a product director for YouTube Music said this would in fact be the platform's “biggest marketing spend” to-date. The article also highlights that its marketing activities will include prominent spots on YouTube’s website, timed around popular music videos and events. It also added that the company will look to buy TV sports during sporting events for the new service.

Nonetheless, with so many music streaming services currently already at play, YouTube Music faces intense competition. While some might argue that Google has already made a foray into this space with its existing Google Play Music service, and has an established foothold on music video streaming with its existing music fan base, this will in fact be the first time Google has taken on the music streaming market head-on with a free and paid service. As such, the service will not only need to fend off competition from the duopoly of Spotify and Apple Music, but also recent entrants from Amazon Music and Tidal.

Fending off competition

According to Kaythaya Maw, chief technology officer APAC at Digitas, to make its streaming service attractive to existing user base, and convince users of Spotify and Apple to switch, Google needs to differentiate its services and harness the strengths of its current ecosystem.

“Whether that’s seamless transition from its existing Google Play Music, leveraging its AI clout for music suggestions, or integration with other Google services such as Pay, Chrome cast, and Home products, the potential to harness and integrate their other services is significant,” Maw said.

Meanwhile, Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner at Happy Marketer added that with Spotify and Apple Music already enjoying a very solid head start with large premium subscriptions. As such, Google has to catch up quickly if it wants to make a meaningful dent in this space.

“Perhaps it’s native integration on Android devices and eventual integration with its AI platforms could make it very attractive to users through better music discovery, recommendations and personalisation,” he said. He added that whilst Google enhances the product through the above mentioned opportunities, it will still need to invest in signing up top artists as well as offer a rich media advertising that integrates well with its existing Adwords and DoubleClick programmatic engine. This is to allow brands to dish out contextually relevant banner, video and voice ads to non premium customers.

What is a key to success for this platform?

According to Manu Menon, managing director of Reprise, the new service is essentially the rebranding of the YouTube Red product. However, he thinks Google is a little late to the game.

“With Netflix reigning supreme in the video and original content space, and streaming apps like Spotify ruling the word of music, I find it hard to see Google gain a stranglehold of either of these markets,” he says

To stand out in this cluttered space, he views content to be king. Access to exclusive content that users will not get on other platforms will help draw in eyeballs - whether it’s an introduction to an undiscovered musical genius, or access to behind-the-scene content from major live events.

“These are the magic moments consumers are looking for that would truly make or break any new service being launched by Google,”he said, adding:

How well the AI-driven search and discovery engine works would be the other factor that would help. If the service is able to recommend the right content at the right moment, it might gain some fans.

Maw added that Google had a mixed bag of success in diversifying its streaming services with the likes of YouTube TV, YouTube Go, and now revamping YouTube Red into YouTube Premium and YouTube Music. As such, together with phasing out Google Play Music, Google will need to focus on delivering a coherent product message to their customer base.

“We expect Google will undertake a huge marketing blitz to get its message across and revive the YouTube brand, which has been tarnished by the recent controversies over inappropriate videos,” Maw said.

Maw added that in his view, Google often struggles in transitioning users from a free model to a paid one. “If history is any guide, we can point to its video-streaming subscription service YouTube Red, which despite significant marketing investment, accounts for only 7% of YouTube’s revenue,” he said.

“The psychological gap between 'free' and 'not-free' is large gap to overcome. Its existing music fan base of 1 billion users is a solid starting point, but over and above an ad-free service, additional features such as offline playback, AI based suggestions, and seamless integration with other Google services will be key,” he said.

At the end of the day, Google needs to balance its desire to generate new revenue streams through a paid "ad-free" service, while servicing the needs of brands and advertisers on its "free" tier – which is in itself represents a dichotomy for Google to balance the needs of both models.

In line with its pending property launch of Affinity at Serangoon this weekend, Oxley Holdings has created a new ad spot which looks to highlight the importance of family and striving for a better life. The Affinity at Serangoon project is led by Oxley with a consortium of comprises such as SLB Development, KSH Holdings and Apricot Capital.

Through its highly anticipated branding and marketing campaign, the developer looks to showcase Affinity at Serangoon’s strong property positioning along Serangoon North Avenue 1, which includes it being situated in a hot location close to amenities such as Nex, myVillage, Serangoon Gardens Market, SRCC, and Chomp Chomp. The property also has close proximity to elite schools and the renowned Serangoon Gardens neighbourhood. It has 1052 units consisting of one to four bed rooms plus a study, a penthouse and 40 exclusive townhouses. The development also consists of 88 facilities for the enjoyment of residents.

The campaign looks to strike a genuine connection with the viewer and remind them of the strong importance of coming home to family and loved ones, thus tying in to the tagline if "Come home to all that you cherish".

The ad for Affinity at Serangoon follows the journey of a father and son who share a common experience, with the ambition to live in a neighbourhood containing comfortable properties. In the spot, the son is seen getting married while his father reminisces on his childhood and the rides they took together in his van which delivers snacks to other families. The boy is reminded to study hard so he can get a bigger house for his father to live in, in the future. Together, the father and the son reminisce about the boy’s mother and his promise to live in a larger landed house in a neighbourhood located in Serangoon.

The touching and poignant spot ends with the son in recent times telling his father that he wants the latter to live with him and his new wife, in the same neighbourhood that they both strived to live in. Coming full circle, the spot sees the son, his new wife, and the father having snacks in the back of the van just like how they did many years ago.

Watch the ad here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAp0g8dnSKM&t=2s

Affinity@Serangoon will be opening its showflat for preview this coming Saturday 10am-7pm along Serangoon Ave 1.

Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) has said it is looking to expand its airport management portfolio in Asia and Europe. Plans to establish an international subsidiary are also in the pipeline, MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said, adding that it would likely be finalised by the end of the year, NST reported.

The Malaysia-based subsidiary will be called Malaysia Airports International and would be used to house MAHB’s international assets, also overseeing its Turkish operations and other future airports it managements overseas.

Currently, outside of Malaysia, MAHB it manages the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Turkey and the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in India, its website read.

According to an NST report, Badlisham Ghazali explained that the organisation is currently identifying potential foreign airports to invest into. This is through its privatisation model. Badlisham Ghazali added that MAHB’s primary target is Asia, and added there is currently many opportunities as neighbouring Asean countries step up to upgrade and look at different models for privatisation.

As such, MAHB wants to be close to such opportunities. Other Asia markets the company is keen to venture into includes the Indian sub-continent and North Asia, he added. Badlisham Ghazali said that asset acquisition may not solely focus on buying airport stakes, but may also extend to operational airports facility management and services.

Meanwhile, passenger traffic at 39 airports operated by MAHB last year amounted to 96.54 million, compared to 88.98 million in 2016. International passengers formed the bulk (49.4 million), while domestic passengers totaled 47.14 million.

POLITICO, the global newsroom specialising in politics and policy, and South China Morning Post (SCMP), today announced a strategic content partnership between their newsrooms aimed at deepening coverage of the political, economic and policy dynamics driving US - China relations. Under the multi-year partnership, POLITICO and SCMP's newsrooms will collaborate on content sharing and reporting opportunities, expert contributed content and event partnerships in the US and Asia.

The partnership represents a major alignment of two prominent news organisations with "complementary geographical reach and editorial expertise," the press release said, and also represents milestones in both POLITICO's ambition to establish a deeper foothold in Asia and SCMP's growth in the US market. SCMP, meanwhile, has a growing international audience and has launched two new products primarily aimed at the US market this year - Abacus and Inkstone - as part of its mission to lead the global conversation about China.

"Readers from across the world are realising that China needs to be better understood through journalism that offers a plurality of views," said Gary Liu, CEO of South China Morning Post. "This collaboration will provide distinctive and contextualized coverage on the interplay between the US and China, a relationship that impacts the entire world."

"This content partnership represents a milestone for SCMP by expanding our coverage to new audiences, and allowing us to leverage our breadth and depth of expertise on China with POLITICO, one of the world's most innovative and ambitious digital newsrooms," added Tammy Tam, editor-in-chief of South China Morning Post.

"The relationship between the US and China is one of the most important conversations shaping this next generation of decision makers, with consequences echoing not only in Washington, DC and Hong Kong, but around the world," said Robert Allbritton, POLITICO's owner and Publisher.

"We're very excited about this collaboration between two equally ambitious global media companies with a shared set of values and vision for what we produce for our respective audiences," added John Harris, co-founder and editor-in-Chief of POLITICO. "We know that our audiences will be better off and better informed if we tackle this important, dynamic story together."

]]>Pink Dot to have more activities this year prior to main eventhttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/pink-dot-to-have-more-activities-this-year-prior-to-main-event/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/pink-dot-to-have-more-activities-this-year-prior-to-main-event/Wed, 23 May 2018 11:13:46 +0800Vivienne Tay

Organisers of LGBTQ-affirming event Pink Dot will be launching several festivities and activites leading up to its flagship event, Pink Dot 10, which is also in its milestone tenth year. This is in a bid to garner more active community participation.

This will see the creation of PinkFest, which features nearly a dozen businesses, groups and individuals organising a myriad of privately-run activities and events geared towards greater engagement with Singaporeans. The event will span two weeks before Pink Dot and aims to be a “festival of reflection, collaboration and jubilation”, and also a platform which allows everyone to join in to support the “Freedom to Love”, which is also its tagline.

The event has also garnered more than 60 local sponsors so far through the Red Dot for Pink Dot initiative, led by Darius Cheung, founder of 99.co. This is along with other business leaders such as Ho Kwon Ping (executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings), Adrianna Tan (founder of Wobe), Gwendolyn Regina (founder of SGEntrepreneurs), Royston Tay (founder of Zopim), Goh Yiping (venture partner, Quest Ventures), and Mohan Belani (founder of e27).

Pink Dot 10 will also see the roll-out of three community-led campaign videos by three local filmmakers Christopher Khor, Quen Wong and He Shuming. The videos focus on the continuing challenges faced by LGBT individuals and families. They are also told from the perspectives of a teenager behind the Love, Simon petition, a mother-and-daughter volunteer team, and a queer person from a Malay-Muslim family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsgru2aB-kE

“For the past nine editions, Pink Dot has worked hard to win the hearts and minds of Singaporeans, to help bring the message of inclusion and diversity to everyone on this Little Red Dot. Hence, as we celebrate this important milestone, we want to call on every Singaporean who seeks a more open-minded and inclusive Singapore to stand with us, to say We Are Ready,” said Pink Dot SG spokesperson, Paerin Choa.

“Last year’s amazing response to Red Dot for Pink Dot sent a strong message that Singaporean businesses were ready to take a stand in support of the Freedom to Love. This year, we hope to continue making waves - and we call on all of corporate Singapore, from the family-run SMEs to the massive Singapore-owned multinationals, to join us in this endeavour,” Cheung said.

Last year, 120 local companies came in to throw their monetary support behind Pink Dot when 13 multinational companies were barred from doing so.

This followed further reiterations from the Ministry of Home Affairs on its position on foreign brand involvement in Pink Dot 2017 and its rejection of 10 corporate entities which wanted to show their support for the event. The year before, only five local companies were sponsors.

]]>Marketing tactics used during #GE14: The art of handing out discountshttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/ge-discounts-when-should-brands-draw-the-line/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/ge-discounts-when-should-brands-draw-the-line/Wed, 23 May 2018 11:12:11 +0800Janice Tan

Discounts are a typical way for companies to attract more consumers, and when launched at the appropriate time, can bring benefits to brands. In the week leading up to election day, several companies - mainly food and beverage and convenience stores - offered discounts and free meals or products to consumers which were publicised on social media. Brands such as Krispy Kreme, Boost Juice Bar, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Dave's Deli Malaysia were among the few that launched discounts and promotions during the 14th Malaysia General Election (GE14).

According to statistics from Meltwater, the list of trending topics on 9 May included "promo", "get rewarded", "Aeon vouchers", "special promo" and "free giveaway and offers", among others. Meanwhile, trending themes before and after election day include "free brownie giveaway", "free burger", "free Kenny" and "GE14".

While some businesses have dished out discounts to portray themselves as good corporate citizens that have the country's interests at heart, others might have seen GE14 as a good excuse to draw more customers and increase revenue, thus capitalising on it.

Geometry Global Malaysia's CEO Kenny Loh said it would only make sense for companies in certain industries such as FMCG and automobile to launch discounts during elections. He added that unity should be one of the main drivers behind the discounts or promotions, for example, AirAsia slashing ticket prices on polling day. According to Loh, this works "very well" for AirAsia as it being seen as a caring brand that is proud of its Malaysian roots. He also agreed for the need to remain neutral, as companies will be addressing consumers from all walks of life.

Prashant Kumar, senior partner of ENTROPIA, said that while companies can leverage on the election fever in their marketing strategies,

It is important for them to remain apolitical and not touch on sensitive issues.

"This GE, some brands may have crossed the line and I am sure, they came out regretting it," Kumar said. He added that brands with values that are representative of democracy, such as freedom, togetherness, choice and rights, are "best placed" to ride the elections. However, the emphasised that they must do it right.

Agreeing with him is Casey Loh, creative chief of The Clan, who said that while it is important for companies to show that they are a part of every Malaysian's life, there is a thin line a brand might cross if the campaign appears to be politically charged or biased.

"Be respectful of the elections and humble in the approach. Either treat the campaign and the meaning of the election with care, or risk getting embroiled in a conversation you don't want to have with a very vocal and involved audience," Loh said. According to him, one of the best ways to not draw unwanted attention to the brand is to focus on the rakyat (citizens) and how much their vote matters to the country.

Malaysia is the ninth largest market worldwide for Chinese tourists when it comes to overseas spending, according to Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform by Ant Financial.

The transactions, which were recorded during the three-day annual May Day holiday celebrated in China, witnessed Alipay recording an average per-capita spend of RM635.97 in Malaysia, which beat more developed markets such as the US. Consumers born in the 1980s and 1990s accounted for 85% of Alipay usage overseas, with coffee shops, Hong Kong-style cafes and American-style fast food chains processing the highest number of Alipay transactions amongst eating establishments.

A+M has reached out to Alipay for more details.

Alipay is currently accepted in more than 18,000 merchants in Malaysia, including stores operating within Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2, all Eraman, 7-Eleven and Starbucks stores in Malaysia, as well as various businesses across Resorts World Genting. Taxis in Malaysia have also begun accepting Alipay as a result of its partnership with e-hailing app EzCab.

According to Cherry Huang, GM, cross-border business for South and Southeast Asia, Alipay, Malaysia presents an "exciting opportunity" for its network as more Chinese consumers opt to travel to the country for a holiday. Huang added that since most Chinese tourists prefer making payments via mobile, it is important for Alipay to establish its presence in Malaysia.

"This will provide the Chinese travellers the same smart lifestyle they enjoy back home, while bolstering local businesses from the boom in Chinese tourists arrivals,” Huang added.

Huang was appointed to her role last year, leading business operations and growth in the region to further strengthen Alipay’s payments platform leadership through enabling cross-border transactions. That includes helping businesses across retail, travel, hospitality and F&B connect with Chinese tourists.

Last year, Alipay inked partnerships with Malaysia Airports and Public Bank to offer its services to a wider range of merchants and consumers. Across the border in Singapore, Alipay also tied up with the Singapore Tourism Board and retailers in Chinatown to target Chinese tourists that visit the country.

Check out the top 10 May Day destinations by transaction volume below:

HSBC Bank has picked PHD to handle its global media planning and buying duties, following a review held earlier this year for the estimated US$400 million account. The review also saw incumbent Mindshare and Dentsu vying for the account, according to Adweek.

England-based media consulting agency ID Comms was handling the review, which comes nearly six years after Mindshare defended the account in 2013. The agency has been handling HSBC's media account since 2004. Marketing has reached out to HSBC, PHD, Mindshare and Dentsu for comments.

Last year, HSBC appointed John Flint as chief executive of retail banking and wealth management, succeeding Stuart Gulliver as group chief executive and executive director, who is retiring. In July 2017, former HSBC head of marketing Abdul Sani Abdul Murad left the bank to join RHB Bank as CMO.

Recently, American Express will potentially carry out a global media review, which will also see Mindshare defending the account. According to American Express' VP of public affairs, Elizabeth Crosta, said the review is in a bid to drive "greater marketing efficiency and effectiveness" across the company, and that incumbent agencies would be invited to pitch, Adweek reported.

Absolut has partnered with JCDecaux Singapore to launch its first live social feed digital campaign. The campaign will run on the Digital Duty-Free Network across all four terminals at Singapore Changi Airport. The “Global Selfie” campaign to launch the limited edition “Absolut World” vodka will run from 8 May on 57 digital screens.

The live social feed capability adds to JCDecaux’s suite of solutions for 360 marketing campaigns to facilitate conversations surrounding brands, following earlier innovative tools like Wechat shake campaigns using beacon technology and Dynamic advertising using live feeds such as flight information.

Running on 85-inch digital screens around Changi Airport, the “Global Selfie” campaign brings together a global community of travelers through the sharing of local insider travel tips in line with the values of openness and unity seen in the new vodka bottle design, Absolut World. It invites travelers flying from Frankfurt and Singapore to upload a picture of themselves through its website with their name, age, city and recommend places they love eating, drinking and getting together with friends in their home city.

The insider travel tips and selfies are displayed on screens in terminals with flights departing to the cities mentioned. For instance, selfies recommending places in Singapore will be shown in terminals at Frankfurt airport only where there are outbound flights to Singapore. The selfies will be displayed against different themed backdrops such as “Ready for Your Trip”, “Join our Global Selfie” or “Unlock Local Hotspots” and will then be transformed into a photo collage.

Lisa McCann, brand director of Absolut, Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, said, “As the first of its kind, we’re excited to launch this unique digital campaign with JCDecaux, using smart technology to add to the celebration of togetherness that surrounds the launch of Absolut World. It is the ideal platform to defy the distances between us and carve out new connections across international l borders while truly enhancing the travel experience.”

“Today’s travelers are global citizens of the world. We are constantly exploring ways to marry the prominence of out of home media with the pervasiveness of mobile devices to bridge international shoppers via airports across the globe," Isaline Duminil, marketing director of JCDecaux Singapore, said.

"With smart devices making up more than half of the hand sets in use today, social live feed campaigns like Absolut’s “Global Selfie” campaign create more possibilities to reach out to well-connected consumers,” Duminil added.

]]>BreadTalk Group to bring new tea cafes to Singapore and Thailand via JVhttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/breadtalk-to-bring-new-tea-cafes-to-singapore-and-thailand-via-jv/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/breadtalk-to-bring-new-tea-cafes-to-singapore-and-thailand-via-jv/Wed, 23 May 2018 08:58:57 +0800Khayli Bruton

BreadTalk Group has partnered with Shenzhen Pindao Food & Beverage Management to bring new tea beverages to Singapore and Thailand via a new joint venture.

BreadTalk’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Together Inc, entered into a joint-venture agreement with Shenzhen Pindao Food & Beverage Management to incorporate BTG-Pindao Venture. Together Inc will hold a 90% stake of the JV, with Pindao holding the remaining 10%. Under the SG$3 million agreement, BTG-Pindao will operate and manage the popular tea beverage brands Nayuki (奈雪) and Tai Gai (台盖) in Singapore and Thailand, with a first right of refusal to operate in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

The first Tai Gai store outside China is slated to be launched in Q4 2018. While Tai Gai offers a novel way of appreciating tea, Nayuki brings a new café concept of premium tea creations complemented by European-inspired artisanal breads which have been the rage in China in recent years. Tai Gai first opened in China in July 2015 followed by Nayuki just five months later in November 2015.

Of this strategic alliance with Pindao, Henry Chu, BreadTalk Group CEO said, “The BreadTalk Group delights in bringing innovative F&B concepts to our consumers, and we have observed that there has been a growing demand for novelty tea beverages among younger consumers. With our extensive regional presence and strong operational track record, coupled with their innovative products and highly scalable business model, we are confident of scaling new heights and bringing unique experiences to our consumers in Singapore and Thailand.”

“It took us just three years to build both Nayuki and Tai Gai to the more than 100 stores currently in China, despite an landscape where international beverage chains were capturing the hearts of many young consumers, and the BreadTalk Group believed in our ambition to rejuvenate the tea-drinking culture by introducing new ways to appreciate it. Coupling the breadth and depth of the Group’s F&B knowledge and experience with its regional network, we believe this partnership will add indelible value to Pindao’s growth," Zhao Lin, Pindao CEO, added.

KrisFlyer, the frequent flyer programme for Singapore Airlines Group, and Points, the global leader in powering loyalty commerce, has launched “Krisflyer vRooms”. This is a dedicated platform for KrisFlyer members to redeem miles for hotels and car rental services.

The partnership will enable KrisFlyer members to use their miles to book over 300,000 hotels and over 29,000 car rental locations around the globe. Through a single integration with the Points’ Loyalty Commerce Platform, which powers Points Travel services, 3.5 million KrisFlyer members will have the flexibility to fully redeem with miles or make a partial redemption by mixing miles with cash.

“With KrisFlyer vRooms, members have an additional option to use their miles. Hotels and car rentals are a perfect complement to KrisFlyer as a frequent flyer programme, as these redemption options extend through the travel category. We are committed to constantly enhancing the benefits of the KrisFlyer programme, and with this new seamless redemption process, members can enjoy a more rewarding experience with our programme,” Tan Kai Ping, Singapore Airlines senior vice president marketing planning, said.

“We’re excited to team up with Singapore Airlines to develop KrisFlyer vRooms. Through Points’ suite of loyalty commerce services, members have more opportunities to use their reward miles with more flexibility. This partnership will ultimately drive value for all stakeholders, as well as showcase their continued efforts to innovate,” CEO of Points, Rob MacLean, said.

Currently, KrisFlyer members can redeem their miles for flights over 30 airlines to more than 1,000 destinations. Members can also use their miles for flight upgrades on Singapore Airlines and SilkAir.

In addition, KrisFlyer members have the option to mix their miles and cash when paying for their tickets, as well as to use their miles to purchase advanced seat selection for more legroom in economy class on their Singapore Airlines flight. Members can also choose to convert their miles to points with selected partner loyalty programmes for more rewards on the ground.

Marketing has reached out to Singapore Airlines for more details.

It was also recently announced that SilkAir will be merging with Singapore Airlines (SIA) after undergoing an investment programme of more than US$100 million to upgrade its cabin products as part of a multi-year initiative. SIA’s spokesperson confirmed to Marketing that the SilkAir brand will no longer exist after the merger. When asked if there will be any personnel changes, especially in the marketing department, the spokesperson said these aspects of the integration are currently under review to ensure a smooth transition for its staff and operations.

Bank of China Singapore Branch and Qoo10 Singapore have tied up to launch a co-brand Mastercard credit card, which caters to both working adults and students.

The Bank of China Qoo10 Mastercard card aims to bring greater value to online shoppers and drive e-commerce growth in the region.With the co-brand card, cardholders can enjoy up to 20% rebate on Qoo10, dining and transport including Grab, taxis and public transport spend, amongst others. The rebate will come in the form of Qmoney – Qoo10’s own currency – which can be used to offset future purchases, making for a unique rewards ecosystem for Qoo10 shoppers.

According to Qiu Zhikun, Bank of China's GM and country head, today's consumers are increasingly turning to online retail channels for better savings and the bank intends to help them maximise that value. Qiu said the partnership, which is the first between a bank and online retailer in Singapore, aims to reward and incentivise customer loyalty, bringing greater value to an ever-growing segment of savvy online shoppers.

He added that the card is the latest in Bank of China's payment innovation efforts, following the launch of its e-wallet app and customer service robot powered by artificial intelligence in 2017. The bank is also launching its first regional innovation centre this year, to showcase its latest fintech ideas and technologies.

"We will continue to use technology to create products that enhance the customer experience, while supporting Singapore’s vision for a Smart Nation," Qiu added. Bank of China Singapore Branch has a local network of 23 touch-points.

Qoo10 Singapore's country manager Cho Hyun Wook, said the partnership helps it elevate its offerings for over three million registered users in its database, adding that the company's goal is to continuously improve and evolve its value-added services to its members.

Recently, Qoo10 said it is cracking down on counterfeit products by putting in place various internal systemic protocols to check and deter the sale of those items. This move reinforces its business principle to ensure that all products sold on its platform are genuine, as well as its goal to be a responsible e-commerce player.

Group AMEA has announced leadership changes with the appointment of John Tenchavez Lucas as the new CEO of Campaigns & Grey (C&G) Philippines whilst Jose Carlo (Boboy) Consunji will be taking on the role of Non-Executive Director at Campaigns & Grey (C&G).

Consunji, who has led the agency since 2015, has been responsible for initiating the digital transformation of the organisation as well as added services such as Shopper Marketing, Product Activation and PR. He has also attracted new talent which swiftly resulted in new business wins of several brands including Wyeth, Coca-Cola and Shell, among others. Under his leadership, other notable clients such as – Sanofi, Tim Hortons and Smirnoff Mule also joined the agency roster. In addition, C&G remains as the only Philippine agency that does regional work for P&G.

A well-respected member of the advertising community, Consunji has represented Grey in the local industry by serving as a member of the Ad Standards’ Council for the last four years and also as Chairman of the Technical Committee.

John Tenchavez Lucas, the newly named CEO, is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience and was previously Chief Growth Officer, DDB Group Philippines (DDB, Tribal Worldwide Philippines, Agile Intelligence, Ripple8 PR & Touch XDA). He will work closely with Nirvik Singh, Chairman & CEO, Grey Group Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, to drive the ongoing digital transformation of the company, be responsible for the agency’s continued business growth as well as oversee the deepening of C&G’s creative offerings and processes.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Boboy for all his hard work and efforts throughout his time as CEO and wish him the best in his new role. John brings with him a tremendous track record of success as the new CEO of Campaigns & Grey Philippines,” says Singh. “He is a dynamic, results-oriented leader with extensive knowledge of our industry and, as such, his appointment is a clear signal of our ambition to continue to aggressively pursue growth and digital transformation in the Philippines.”

Lucas moved to DDB in 2008 to establish Tribal DDB Philippines. He led his digital team in creating innovative digital campaigns for Smart Communications, PLDT-Smart Foundation, United Laboratories, Maybelline. He also worked with the regional Tribal DDB-RADAR team (social media consultancy) for the development of Smart Communication’s social media strategy and programs. Lucas quickly rose through the ranks and in 2013, was named Group Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer, DDB Philippines and Tribal Worldwide.

During his time there, he played an instrumental role in developing the digital knowledge and capabilities of DDB Philippines, incorporating social media insights to the strategic planning process, and adding the following accounts to the network’s creative portfolio; Jollibee Food Corporation-Mang Inasal, SMART Communications, PLDT, J&J digital (premium beauty products) and Cignal. He was also lauded for his key role in the country’s win of the hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

Prior to DDB, Lucas headed up Client Services and New Businesses in his role as Vice-President – Client Service Director, at DRAFTFCB (2004-2008). Here he spearheaded the strategic communications plan for the Talk ‘N Text re-launch, undertook the Anchor 1+ clinical test launch, and led the local agency team in regional planning activities for Anlene Hi-Calcium Milk. He also worked with numerous other clients including; Smart (Talk ‘N Text and Addict Mobile), SM Mall of Asia, San Miguel Corporation and Fonterra Brands.

“I have been impressed by Grey as a global creative powerhouse and I’m excited to lead a strategic and digital-focused Campaigns & Grey,” said Lucas. “We have a great team and I want to ensure that we deliver the innovation and creativity that will drive the growth of our clients' brands and businesses."

Lucas is also a board director of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As), where he is the director for programs and sports. This is his second term as 4As board director. He was also elected to serve the industry in 2012-2014. In addition, he is a panelist for the Advertising Standard Council of the Philippines (ASC).

Havas Worldwide Singapore's GM David Tay (pictured) has left the agency to join Geometry Global Indonesia as managing director. He replaces Mike Forster, who has taken on the role of MD at Geometry Global Korea.

Both Geometry Global and Havas confirmed Tay's move to Marketing.

According to Tay's LinkedIn, he joined Geometry Global as general manager in April this year, before being promoted to the role of managing director in May. Prior to his new role, Tay was the GM at Havas for more than two years, where he led and managed the agency's business portfolio, focusing on growing existing clients and driving new business.

Tay was also previously the group business director of BBDO Singapore, where he was in charge of leading integrated campaigns for Mercedes and Singtel, along with new business development. He was also formerly the group brand director of Saatchi & Saatchi as the brand custodian for UOB, Lexus and Singapore Navy. Tay has spent more than 15 years with top local and international agencies leading large accounts across a breadth of categories including automobile, finance and telecom.

]]>McDonald’s SG garners love chronicling a day in the life of a McDelivery riderhttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/mcdonalds-promotes-the-spirit-of-sharing-with-new-ramadan-spot/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/mcdonalds-promotes-the-spirit-of-sharing-with-new-ramadan-spot/Tue, 22 May 2018 11:45:19 +0800Janice Tan

McDonald's Singapore's new Ramadan spot revolves around the theme of caring and sharing, featuring a Muslim McDelivery driver as the protagonist.

The Facebook video chronicles a day in the life of the McDelivery rider, from waking up early to have his first meal with the family before dawn, to carrying out acts of kindness along the way during his deliveries. On his last delivery, the customer asks if it was time for him to break fast and offered him a Happy Sharing Box, which the protagonist just delivered to the house.

In a Facebook video which garnered over 2.3k reactions, 452k views, 508 shares and 58 comments at the time of writing, McDonald's said that a moment worth having is worth sharing. "Take a moment to share the spirit of Ramadan with someone today," the caption added. Netizens have commended the ad for being touching and also recounted their experiences of caring and sharing during the month of Ramadan.

In a statement to Marketing, Agatha Yap, senior director of marketing and digital innovation, said the video will run on YouTube, social media and TV until Hari Raya. She added that the insight for the campaign revolves around "Sharing is caring/giving" during Ramadan. DDB and OMD were responsible for the video.

“We’re encouraged by the positive response received from our latest video. We wanted to celebrate Singapore’s community spirit of human kindness, sharing and togetherness during this Ramadan month, and what better way than to do it through the lens of our McDelivery riders – who connect our brand with our customers, door to door. It’s our small way of appreciating those working tirelessly behind the scenes to deliver meals and enabling the bonding and sharing moments during this occasion,” Yap said.

McDonald's recently launched a Happy Sharing Box campaign, which aims to bond people over shareable food. The campaign which started on 2 May showcases the generation gap between parent and child and how sharing brings them together.

IPG Mediabrands has rolled its agencies, Society and Ansible, under the Reprise banner to create a new full-service global performance media marketing unit. The unified Reprise will continue to partner with and support UM and Initiative, the global media networks within IPG Mediabrands, as well as cultivate its own client base.

IPG Mediabrands created the new offering in response to the growing market need for a full suite of digital media services to be housed under one roof. This new unit will combine Reprise’s core search and SEO capabilities with the social content and creative skills of its sister agency, Society. The mobile media, UX and technology capabilities from Ansible are also included in the new unit. Reprise will now offer strong global capabilities across digital channels, content creation, product and web development, along with eRetail and commerce.

Philippe Krakowsky, chairman and CEO of IPG Mediabrands, said that the relaunch of Reprise will allow the company to harness the expertise of three of its leading specialist agencies, Ansible, Society and Reprise, to deliver a full spectrum of performance media capabilities, united by a connected strategy.

“Our clients’ businesses are becoming increasingly centered on digital experiences, which is why a unified approach to consumer engagement across owned, earned, paid and shared media in the digital space makes sense. This strategy will allow Reprise to drive demand as a stand-alone proposition, but more so it will further enhance the data, creative and culture-driven offerings that are differentiating UM and Initiative in the marketplace,” Krakowsky added.

“The connected consumer expects unified communications – to be informed and entertained with engaging content. To address this reality, we have reimagined how we approach working with our clients. The key question clients are asking is ‘How do we create meaningful brand interactions with digital advertising?’ We work back with our clients from there, rather than simply talking numbers. The campaigns we create and the results we achieve benefit tremendously from starting the conversation the right way,” Reprise global CEO Tim Ringel (pictured left), said.

Ringel joined Reprise in January 2017 as global CEO and will continue to lead the newly unified agency, in partnership with long-term Reprise executive and global COO Craig Ellis (picture right). The new global brand includes a full corporate identity refresh, including a new logo, website, and visual assets, all of which complement the agency’s new positioning for the combined services.

Pizza Hut Singapore has appointed FALCON Agency as its agency for social strategy, digital content creation and community management. The appointment is for a period of one year and comes after a pitch involving two other agencies. According to a spokesperson from Pizza Hut, the agency was selected based on its social strategy, which is in alignment with Pizza Hut's needs.

"We look forward to working closely with them to drive greater engagement and resonance with our consumers," the spokesperson added.

“We are excited to be working on an iconic brand that many of us grew up on and have become in many ways, a de-facto comfort food for us Singaporeans. We hope to bring the brand closer to the consumers through more relevant and engaging social content and campaigns,” Kelvin Koo, managing partner at FALCON Agency said.

Most recently, Pizza Hut launched a new brand platform called “Your Slice of Simple” in conjunction with Ogilvy Singapore. The platform looks to rekindle Singaporeans’ love for food and celebrates Pizza Hut’s simple pizza experience. The campaign is called “Foodies Anonymous” and depicts a foodie’s confessions at a foodie-focused group therapy session.

The launch campaign called out pretentious and recovering foodies, all seeking support as they tackle the anxiety and melancholy that results from food over complication and pretentiousness. Based on the insight that young Singaporeans today are looking for simple, precious moments in a complex world, the idea highlights traits reflective of Singapore culture today, namely, ‘camera-eats-first syndrome’, food trend addictions and excessive menu alteration.

Check it out:

https://youtu.be/BsTljn4il8g

At the recent MARKies Awards 2018, FALCON was awarded best of show for media usage with 3 golds, 3 silvers and 2 bronze.

TBWA\ Group Malaysia's CEO Aaron Cowie (pictured left) will be leaving the agency in October, after approximately 12 years with the agency. He joined in 2006 as head of account management before being named COO in 2007, and finally taking on the CEO role in 2011.

Cowie, who is also the VP of the Malaysia 4A's, will share his future plans in due time. Replacing Cowie is current COO Yee Hui Tsin (pictured right), who will be taking on the role of MD, effective October 2018.

Yee joined the group in 2009 and was appointed GM of Creative Juice, before being promoted to COO of TBWA\ Group Malaysia in 2016. During her time as COO, she has played a crucial role in driving new business, enhancing client relationships, building culture and leading transformation programmes. She has also been instrumental in forging relationships with Cooler Lumpur Festival, an annual festival in Kuala Lumpur that aims to cultivate the creativity and imagination of the people. Yee has a passion for the development of young talent, and serving as a mentor.

Cowie said it is "incredibly rewarding" to watch young, passionate colleagues grow into ambitious, innovative leaders. "Yee is perfect to take on the MD role and has the confidence and support of the entire agency. She is a visionary who is highly driven about the agency and the business. I am confident she will make a great leader and continue to evolve the agency as the industry continues to disrupt," he added.

“Malaysia is a strong market for us, and Cowie has spent a decade building a fantastic team. We are incredibly grateful for his drive, energy and commitment over so many years, and he will leave us in October with the ultimate legacy, a fantastic successor," Ian Pearman, president TBWA\ Asia, said.

Pearman added that Yee represents the new generation of skills and smarts within its collective that clients will need to tackle the multiple challenges of modern marketing. "In Hui Tsin, we have one of the star talents of the Malaysian market," he said.

According to group CEO Al-Ishsal Ishak, Millennials are on the look out something different that breaks through the clutter of texting and using social media. Pos Malaysia constantly challenges itself to make its consumers' experience unique and different, and the new 3D hologram greeting cards demonstrate its "ongoing commitment to innovation".

Each hologram card pack comprises a greeting card, an envelope and stamp, a holographic plastic projector and a limited-edition postcard. To view the 3D hologram video, consumers must download the hologram app via App Store or Google Play, and place the hologram plastic project on the smartphone screen.

Meanwhile, Pos Malaysia also partnered with Primeworks Studios to release a special edition postcard of the upcoming Malay movie titled Pulang, which is scheduled to release after Hari Raya. Using the hologram app, consumers will be able to watch three teaser movie trailers, as well as an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip. The company also included four pieces of AR postcards with a new AR animated video. Consumers are also required to download the AR postcard app to view the animated video.

Fight promoters MP Promotions and Events has appointed Havas Sports & Entertainment as the International Media Rights and Commercial Partner for the upcoming "Fight of Champions" World Boxing Association (WBA) Welterweight Championship. The championship features contestants Manny Pacquiao and Lucas Matthysse.

Following the deal, the agency is granted media rights across all platforms and devices, covering worldwide distribution across Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Africa. Among the list of platforms includes television, broadband, mobile, radio and in-flight rights. In addition, Havas Sports & Entertainment will also oversee a comprehensive range of sponsorship opportunities for the championship. This includes the marketing rights of Pacquiao and Matthysse, event and venue branding, as well as on-air sponsorship.

Head of sales and marketing of MP Promotions and Events, Arnold Vegafria said that the brand is pleased to collaborate with an important player in the media industry such as Havas Media Asia Pacific.

Melvin Lim, CEO of Havas Sports & Entertainment, APAC also said that the agency is committed to tap on its international network to expand the reach of this event, and break into key markets as well as grow new audiences for the sport. Lim added that the premium fight offers brands the opportunity to be associated with a "legendary boxer" like Pacquiao, and showcase Malaysia as a premium venue for world-class sporting events.

Nasi Lemak and bubble tea? While this might seem to some as a strange combo, Tealive certainly doesn’t think so as it recently added on the famous Nasi Lemak onto its menu. In a conversation with A+M, a spokesperson said given Tealive is available at LRT and MRT stations, it sees that many customers may need a breakfast item other than drinks during their morning commute to work.

“We decided it would be good for us to offer them a branded food item using the familiar Tealive cup and familiar food menu for breakfast, at a reasonable price,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that going forward, Tealive Eats is the next menu layer for Tealive other than drinks. As such, it is looking at how to best to package/brand food items as a combo with drinks.

Initially staring off with four outlets, the dish is now slowly extending to more outlets primarily at petrol stations and LRT and MRT stations. It’s planned to be a permanent menu item, with variations every quarterly.

Most recently, Tealive's parent company Loob Holding revealed its expansion plans into the metro cities of India through its collaboration with World Iconic Brands Hospitality (WIB). As part of the partnership, WIB will open 140 Tealive stores in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore within the next five years.

CEO of Loob Holding Bryan Loo, said disrupting the market is key for the company to maintain its leading position in Malaysia,while expanding into other markets, due to the “intense competition” it faces daily. To raise brand awareness and stand out among its competitors, Tealive injects “innovative and exciting products” into the markets it’s operating in, be it for a limited time only or a long term basis. Loo said ultimately the company aims to build a unique brand positioning and create an emotional attachment to the brand.

Former US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have signed a multi-year agreement to produce films and series with streaming service Netflix.

The Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features. These projects will be available to all 125 million members of Netflix in 190 countries. The Obamas have established Higher Ground Productions as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix.

President Obama said that one of the simple joys of his time in public service was getting to meet many people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience. “That’s why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix – we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world,” he said.

“Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others. Netflix’s unparalleled service is a natural fit for the kinds of stories we want to share, and we look forward to starting this exciting new partnership,” Mrs Obama added.

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said, “Barack and Michelle Obama are among the world’s most respected and highly-recognized public figures and are uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities and strive to change the world for the better. We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities.”

]]>Grab says less than 20% of former Uber SEA staff no longer with companyhttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/grab-says-less-than-20-of-former-uber-sea-staff-no-longer-with-company/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/grab-says-less-than-20-of-former-uber-sea-staff-no-longer-with-company/Tue, 22 May 2018 09:52:32 +0800Janice Tan

In a statement to Marketing, Grab has confirmed that it was unable to offer suitable roles for less than 20% of former Uber Southeast Asia employees, based on their profiles and personal career goals.

“We've been unable to offer suitable roles for less than 20% of Uber employees, based on their profiles and personal career goals. They have the opportunity to explore available roles with Uber in other regions and will receive a severance package,” a spokesperson told Marketing in an exclusive statement.

This was in response to Marketing’s queries that Grab was carrying out job cuts through email after a previous town hall. The Grab spokesperson said the company has reached out to every Uber employee to find them a suitable role in Grab. It has made offers to "a vast majority of employees" who have completed discussions with Grab teams.

"We’ve had open conversations with Uber employees to understand their career aspirations, and where their experience is relevant, we’ve set up chats with multiple Grab functions to ensure everyone has the opportunity to find a role that provides continued career growth and personal development. We will continue to speak with Uber employees in the next couple of months," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added, “We have the same hunger and determination to improve lives in Southeast Asia, and look forward to welcoming our new colleagues at Grab soon.”

In the meantime, Grab has inked several strategic partnerships to grow its offering in the region. Recently, it partnered with Maybank in Malaysia to drive the acceptance and usage of GrabPay. The move follows Grab’s vision of becoming the everyday app for Malaysian consumers, integrating mobility, food delivery, cashless payments, financial services and logistics. It also struck a content and media partnership with Mediacorp in Singapore, which will see the media company managing Grab's fleet-based media assets.

In March, Grab made a push into bike sharing services through its partnership with oBike. Called GrabCycle, the partnership coincided with the launch of GrabVentures, a new division which experiment with new products and services to “add value and improve quality of consumers living in Southeast Asia”.

Media Prima has appointed senior independent non-excutive director, Datuk Mohd Nasir bin Ahmad (pictured), as interim independent non-executive group chairman. This comes as Tan Sri Ismee Ismail steps down from his position and resigns from the board.

Mohd Nasir bin Ahmad, who joined the board on 26 February 2016, is currently serving as chairman of the group's audit committee and member of the nomination and renumeration committee. He is also chairman of Sistem Televisyen Malaysia and a board member of Synchrosound Studio. Meanwhile, Ismee Ismail joined the board on 1 June 2017 and also served as chairman of the group's risk management.

"In accepting Tan Sri Ismee’s request for resignation, the board expressed its deepest appreciation and gratitude for his leadership and contributions to Media Prima," the press statement read.

This comes shortly after the group announced that Datuk Seri Mohd Ashraf Abdullah will be ending his tenure as group managing editor of news and current affairs, Media Prima Television Networks (MPTN). He first joined Media Prima as group editor of TV3 in June 2009. Replacing him is deputy group managing editor, news and current affairs, MPTN, Datuk Manja Ismail.

Malaysia Airlines (MAB) has launched a new video in conjunction with M&C Saatchi Malaysia, as part of its new brand campaign titled “Malaysian Hospitality Begins With Us”.

In a Facebook post which garnered over 124 reactions, 3.1k views, 25 shares and 34 comments, MAB said that the belief "Malaysian Hospitality Begins With Us" defines both the airline and Malaysians, as it aims to treat every passenger like a guest in its own home. The video went on to explain that hospitality defines what the airline is and where it comes from.

"[Malaysian hospitality] is not only found on board but in everyone you meet. It's how we are with one another and everyone else. It's what makes us all uniquely Malaysian and it will be what you remember most," the video added. The spot also received 439,940 YouTube views.

A+M has reached out to MAB for comment.

MAB unveiled “Malaysian Hospitality Begins With Us” earlier this year in a bid to reinstate and demonstrate that it is the national icon and represents Malaysian hospitality on behalf of the nation to all its guests and customers.

The new campaign will be executed across TV, print, outdoor and social media platforms, and will also be expanded beyond Malaysia. As part of the campaign launch, MAB will also introduce an improved website and mobile application. M&C Saatchi, m/SIX and Society were involved in the campaign.

Group CEO Izham Ismail said its diversity, heritage and culture are the foundation and reference of the airline’s brand promise. It aims to provide a Malaysian experience in travel through Malaysian hospitality, which encompasses all aspects of customer experience reflected through initiatives such as its newly refurbished Peranakan-themed Golden Lounge at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and various digital innovations. This includes the launch of its first in-house Innovation Lab, or iSpace last year, as the airline enters the third phase of its digital transformation, towards becoming the digital airline.

]]>Star Media Group to centralise print activities, cuts down on ops in Penanghttp://www.marketing-interactive.com/star-media-group-to-centralise-print-activities-cuts-down-on-ops-in-penang/
http://www.marketing-interactive.com/star-media-group-to-centralise-print-activities-cuts-down-on-ops-in-penang/Tue, 22 May 2018 09:10:21 +0800Janice Tan

Star Media Group will cease all its printing activities at Star Northern Hub (SNH) in Penang this September, in line with efforts to centralise nationwide printing. This is part of its ongoing cost rationalisation exercise.

According to a Bursa filing, the group said that the move will involve staff redundancies, consideration of future utilisation of the land and building at SNH and disposal of the pressline. The group, however, will still continue with its print business and all newspapers will be printed at the Star Media Hub in Shah Alam, Selangor. As such, Star Media Group does not foresee any "significant adverse impact" to its newspaper circulation in the northern region.

The filing also stated that the announcement will not effect the group's share capital and substantial shareholders' shareholdings. It will also not have any material effect on the gearing, consolidated earnings, earnings per share and net assets per share of the group for the financial year ending 31 December 2018.

Star Media Group posted a net profit of RM87.44mil for the financial year ended 31 December 2017. Its print and digital segment recorded an 18.3% decrease in revenue to RM37.75 million, due to poor consumer and business sentiment. Last November, however, it added that it will continue to defend the print segment while building on other media platforms.

Myopia screening tool and parental management application plano, has struck a deal with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) in a bid to reduce the onset and progression of childhood myopia.

Following the deal, parents and students will be encouraged to use the plano app to cultivate good eye care habits to prevent the onset and progression of Myopia. This is part of the annual vision screening conducted by HPB in schools under the National Myopia Prevention Programme. The partnership also looks to set an example of HPB expanding the reach and impact of its health promotion programmes through the use of technology.

In the development of plano, extensive feedback was taken to ensure that that the app is fit for its purpose. As a result, the app features live interventions to correct unhealthy device usage such as prolonged screen time use. In addition, it is able to actively monitor how close the screen is the eyes, and prompt the use to adjust their posture, accumulating points. These points can thus be use to redeem for monetary discounts.

According to Mo Dirani, managing director of plano, the prevalence of myopia in Singapore is among the highest in the world. Thus, the partnership with HPB will be a pivotal step for plano to have greater reach to school children, raise awareness and complement the existing efforts to better manage myopia. Active use of the app would also help to improve overall quality of life among children.

“This new partnership with plano is part of HPB’s efforts to continuously explore new ways to encourage and equip Singaporeans to lead healthier lives through the use of technology," Veronica Tay, deputy director of the National Myopia Prevention Programme and Student Health Centre of Health Promotion Board said.

She added that this collaboration with plano extends HPB work in preventing the onset and progression of childhood myopia. "Beyond our vision screening in schools and public education efforts to promote good eye care habits, we can now involve parents more actively in cultivating good eye care habits in their children. Parents will now have the ability for smart monitoring of their children’s usage of electronic devices, at their convenience,” Tay explained.

Plano was first conceptualised and developed by the Singapore Eye Research Institute-Singapore National Eye Centre's (SERI-SNEC) Ophthalmic Technologies Incubator Programme, with support from the National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC). This was conceptualised after recognising the significant public health implications of childhood myopia.

With the new partnership, Grab consumers will be able to use GrabPay mobile wallet at GrabPay merchants, as well as key merchants of Maybank. Similarly, Maybank customers will also have the option of paying via Maybank QRPay at GrabPay merchants following the deal.

In addition, consumers will be able to top-up their mobile wallet directly with the use of Maybank2U, the bank's internet banking portal, bringing added convenience to consumers. Maybank customers who use GrabPay as their payment method for rides and other services on Grab will also be able to enjoy exclusive benefits and rewards. Moving forward, both companies will be collaborating to bring more merchants into the mobile payment network.

According to Ooi Huey Tyng, managing director, GrabPay Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines, Maybank not only shares the brand's vision of a cashless payament future, but also recognises Grab as "ideally poised" to make this a reality.

“This partnership underlines the strength of Grab’s collaborative approach. The whole industry needs to come together to make the cashless economy a reality in Malaysia. With GrabPay mobile wallet as the leading payment method on our Grab app, it will build an interconnected ecosystem of our services, thus making Grab an everyday app to complement consumers’ everyday lifestyle,” Ooi said.

Group president and CEO of Maybank, Datuk Abdul Farid Alias added that the collaboration with Grab is part of Maybank Group’s ongoing efforts to provide customers with even more digital conveniences that would not only enrich their online experience but also enhance their lifestyles.

“We are continuously looking to introduce products and services which offer better value by leveraging on cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of our customers’ needs. With this partnership, our customers will not only enjoy a seamless experience when transacting through GrabPay but also a host of exclusive benefits that would reward them with substantial savings in the long run. This is very much in line with our strategic objective of becoming the digital bank of choice in the region,” Datuk Abdul Farid Alias explained.

Earlier this month, Grab has also launched its food delivery app, GrabFood in Malaysia and Singapore. The service is currently only available in four areas in Malaysia as it is still in its beta testing stage. In a statement to A+M, country head of Grab Malaysia Sean Goh said that the app will be fully launched at the end of May. The brand will also be partnering with restaurants that previously worked with Uber Eats, and with other new restaurants.

Grab has unveiled its vision of becoming the everyday app for Malaysian consumers, integrating mobility, food delivery, cashless payments, financial services and logistics. Although it first started out with the main aim of giving more Malaysians access to transportation, Grab wants to better serve the community by meeting their daily needs.

As part of this new vision, it launched two of its services in Malaysia - GrabPay and GrabFood. Sean Goh, country head of Grab Malaysia, said during a recent press briefing on "The Future of Grab" that GrabPay will be expanded into a mobile wallet to allow consumers to make transactions at retail outlets. Previously, GrabPay was only available in Malaysia as one of the payment methods for ride-hailing.

The company also recently launched a beta version of its food delivery app, GrabFood, which is running in Mont Kiara, Sri Hartamas, Bukit Damansara and Bangsar. Goh said that food delivery not only offers consumers convenience and loyalty points, but also allows drivers to earn an additional source of income, and help merchants boost their revenue. He added that Grab is committed to helping micro-entrepreneurs, such as driver-partners, merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises.

"The beauty of our platform is that we are not about just creating employment for a few people. We are really about creating an alternative source of income for a lot of Malaysians," Goh said.

When asked by A+M about its marketing strategies moving forward, Goh said it aims to focus on the benefits of using the Grab app, such as cashless payments, seamlessness and convenience, as well as address consumer pain points. There are currently no plans to include a messaging function, similar to that of WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, into the app.

With services such as GrabTaxi, GrabCar, GrabShare, GrabPay and GrabCycle, Goh said the company is in the position to power the future of smart cities for consumers because of the interconnectedness of each of its services. It sees multi-modal transportation as the future of transport in Malaysia, which combines public transportation, private car ownerships and ride-hailing.

"We see our diverse cities as a challenging landscape that requires a combination of all our transport services, where it is Grab, trains, buses or bicycles. We see all of this coming together," he said.

Having inked several partnerships over the year with companies and organisations such as Digi, Chubb and the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation, Goh said Grab undergoes a thorough process when selecting partners. Grab's goal is to build a community and ecosystem, and it will invest in partners that are able to contribute to the improvement of the community.

He described all the major partnerships inked so far to be "very promising", adding that Grab is expanding the scope for some of those partnerships. For example, Grab tied up with PETRONAS Dagangan (PDB) last March for an exclusive loyalty programme, the Kad Mesra Grab. In April this year, both companies expanded the partnership to include the Grab Driver Pit Stop, an area for Grab driver partners to rest and refresh before continuing on their journey.

SilkAir will be merging with Singapore Airlines (SIA) after it undergoes an investment programme of more than US$100 million to upgrade its cabin products as part of a multi-year initiative. SIA’s spokesperson confirmed to Marketing that the SilkAir brand will no longer exist after the merger.

When asked if there will be any personnel changes, especially in the marketing department, the spokesperson said these aspects of the integration are currently under review to ensure a smooth transition for its staff and operations.

The cabin upgrades are expected to commence in 2020, after which the merger will only take place after a sufficient number of aircraft have been fitted with the new cabin products. SIA’s spokesperson confirmed to Marketing that the SilkAir brand will no longer exist after the merger.

“Following a detailed review, it was determined that upgrading SilkAir’s cabin products and eventually merging it into SIA will help strengthen and enlarge the SIA Group’s short-haul offerings, enhancing benefits to our customers,” the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the cabin revamp will see the SilkAir aircrafts be fitted with new lie-flat seats in business class, and the installation of seat-back in-flight entertainment systems in both business class and economy class. This will ensure closer product and service consistency across the SIA Group’s full-service network.

According to SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong, SIA is one year into its three-year transformation programme and the announcement is a “significant development” to provide more growth opportunities and prepare the group for an even stronger future.

“Importantly, it will be positive for our customers. It is another example of the major investment we are making to ensure that our products and services continue to lead the industry across short, medium and long-haul routes,” Goh added.

Launched in 1989, SilkAir was initially known as Tradewinds the Airline before being renamed in 1992. As the regional wing of SIA, it focused on holiday destinations in Southeast Asia, before expanding across Asia to a full-fledged, full-service regional carrier. Last year, the airline appoint Y&R to handle its regional creative account, while Burson Cohn & Wolfe (previously known as Burson-Marstellar) was handed the PR account.

myTV SUPER turns two this year, and has reached a number of milestones to accompany the celebration. The platform has amassed more than 5 million subscribers, making it the biggest OTT provider in Hong Kong ­ and that number is still growing by about 10,000 per week.

“We expected it to plateau, but the number just keeps growing,” Benjamin Li, head of online advertising sales, myTV SUPER said.

More than one million households now have a set­top box for myTV SUPER, accounting for half of all households in Hong Kong, which collectively tune in for some 26 million streams per week. And this amounts to 20 million hours of watched content per week, not least because of the type of content. With the scale and pace of its development, the company is confident that myTV SUPER will continue to maintain its leading position in the local OTT market

While TVB Jade is still the most widely watched TV station by ratings in Hong Kong, myTV SUPER is coming in as a close second, and that means that the platform can serve to extend reach for advertisers.

While TVB Jade has an enormous reach of 70% in the 4+ target group, myTV SUPER Set­Top­Box can add an additional 5.5% reach that doesn’t overlap with the free­to­air channel ­ and this number is comparable across target audiences ­ especially in the younger age segments, and it doesn’t include the 4.8M App and Web users.

And that’s not all it has to offer. While myTV SUPER shares all of the benefits (such as massive reach and a dedicated audience) of traditional television, it has the added benefit of being digital ­ which results in the ability to track, target and remarket different segments and audiences across programmes, generating much better value for money ­ and being from top to bottom of the funnel, providing reach and conversions with high viewability (70%), high completion rate (97%) and in a brand­safe environment.

To better facilitate advertisers looking to maximise the impact of TV content, myTV SUPER not only offers a variety of skippable and non­skippable or any dynamic ad formats, it has a wealth of first­party data to facilitate laser­precision targeting through its new DMP.

Built in partnership with Nielsen, the DMP is the first iteration of its kind in Asia and allows the integration of owned marketing data ­ such as for example matching loyalty programme members with which programmes they’re watching, or offering access to highly targeted segments of the population on different programmes. This includes highly accurate audience data across a myriad of consumer traits gathered from both first and third party data, including purchase consideration and shopping behaviour, as well as the ability to personalise messages across brand interactions.

Single ladies worldwide might have had their hopes of becoming part of British royalty dashed, when the royal wedding between Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle took place over the weekend. While Prince Harry might be married happily ever after, IKEA wants consumers to know that there is still another Harry out there that is single and available.

The brand published a witty social media post featuring its IKEA Harry chair, with the caption "Don’t worry ladies, HARRY isn't off the market. We promise." The post received over 10k reactions, 2,527 shares and 553 comments at the time of writing. Netizens were mostly amused by the post, with some praising IKEA for its "brilliant" marketing.

In a statement to Marketing, IKEA's spokesperson said the royal wedding has been a widely talked-about topic in past weeks. As such, the company saw a nice opportunity to make a lighthearted nod towards the well-loved couple, and to let people know that UK's favourite prince is still up for grabs, at least in the IKEA stores.

"We are glad to see that the post has taken well with the community in the markets we look after - Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand," the spokesperson added.

IKEA was not the only brand to have gotten involved with the royal wedding. KFC UK invited members of its loyalty scheme, the Colonel's Club, to celebrate the royal wedding by redeeming an exclusive, handmade "Kentucky Fine China" bucket (where the bucket is actually made by China).

Created by iris London and crafted by Milton China based in central England, the bucket is "truly fit for royalty" as it is made from fine English bone china, the press statement read, adding that there are only 25 pieces available.

Stepping up to the memorabilia plate just in time for the big day, introducing the @KFC_UKI Royal Bucket - a perfect marriage of the finest English china & the fine flavor of the American South. Download the Colonel's Club app to get yours https://t.co/HzYnnuDTRmpic.twitter.com/9sz4BX7zct

Meanwhile, Dunkin' Donuts also created a Dunkin' carriage to match its Royal Love Donut, which were both available until 20 May 2018. Dunkin’ Brands chairman and CEO Nigel Travis said the Royal Wedding represents optimism, happiness and joy, and thus is a perfect opportunity for the brand to celebrate. "We love helping our guests make special occasions both big and small even sweeter with fun donut designs and flavors," Travis said.